Don’t just look to Microsoft for Windows 7 Drivers

Q. I have upgraded to Windows 7 from XP. Everything works fine except Windows 7 does not start the driver for the wireless network adapter after the computer has brought out of standby mode. Most of the time I can unplug the adapter and Windows will restart the driver when the "new hardware" is found. Sometimes it does not. I have the most up to date driver for the network adapter that Windows can find. There are posts on this topic on the Microsoft site, but I have not seen a fix yet. The only suggestions are to make sure the most current driver is installed. Are you aware of any fixes?

A. When it comes to keeping your drivers up to date, one of the most common misconceptions is that Windows somehow keeps accurate track of this. The truth is, Windows does not.

All Windows operating systems contain a fairly large driver database for various devices like network adapters, video and sound cards and so forth, but this database is not completely comprehensive. It simply can’t be.

When you have Windows check for updated drivers, it simply checks the Microsoft database and if there are any updates Windows will download and install them.

Since the Microsoft driver database is not all inclusive, there is a very good chance that they don’t have the most up to date drivers.

Your best bet is to go to the hardware manufacturer’s Web site and check their driver database to see if they’ve published any new drivers.

If your computer is a name brand like Dell, HP, Gateway, etc., you can go to their support site for drivers for any factory standard devices.

If the device is not part of the factory default for your computer, or you’ve built your own PC from components, you will need to go to the component manufacturer’s Web site to download any updated drivers.

Keep in mind that there may not be a Windows 7 specific driver for your network adapter. If there isn’t you may need to consider updating the actual hardware or just live with the erratic behavior.